Sally: I'm so sorry you had the procedure w/o anesthesia! Definitely ask them to knock you out when they remove it! That's crazy. Hopefully you're feeling better a few days in. The nausea for most people eventually goes away w/in 2 weeks of placement.

Trocadero: I think my doc said to try to limit sugars because they can stick to the balloon and can end up blocking the GI tract. Not sure if Coke counts since it is acidic?

Week 9 here. Nice to finally have people to talk to about the balloon It was getting rather lonely.

Thanks Howdytx Did you have crazy nonstop burps at the start? Do they stop?

about same thru all the weeks so far but Gas-X is helping.

Hello all. A little over two months have passed since I had the Orbera gastric balloon placed. During that time I have had near 24/7 nausea which intensified with movement (riding in a car/driving), walking, etc. Unfortunately, I have a job where I'm on my feet for 10-12 hours shifts so every day of work was excruciating. To combat the nausea I have been taking Zofran & hyoscyamine every 4 to 6 hours (aka I actually have been taking every 3.5 hours because that's as long as it lasts & I can stand it before taking the next dose).

I kept hoping that my body would eventually adjust to the gastric balloon and stop wanting to vomit but in the past week the nausea has actually become worse. I contacted the gastric doc and other than giving me more scopalamine patches (which made me feel like I was living in a Tilt-o-whirl) & more Emend (which is $100 per pill for the generic), my only option is to remove the balloon before the 6 months is over.

Soooooo... I made the decision to have the balloon removed & have scheduled removal for next Monday. Super sad I couldn't hack it for the full 6 months but the nausea is making me miserable.

Directions for Orbera removal on Monday:

Only liquids on Sunday, no solid food. Nothing at all 12 hours before procedure. Take 1 Reglan tablet in the morning and 1 in the evening on Sunday. Continue omeprazole for 1 week after procedure and hyoscyamine for stomach cramping as needed after procedure.

So tomorrow will be six weeks since I had my balloon installed, and I've lost about 22 pounds, which I'm happy about It's all going well, but i do have one weird thing. Mostly, I feel great, but every once in a while, it feels like my food just won't go down. I just threw up and finally feel some relief, but (sorry this is gross), I was throwing up dinner from two nights ago. It's so weird. It happened to me on both legs of my flight to the US over spring break, and I wondered if it had something to do with the altitude... Wait... Maybe it's got something to do with taking Immodium, which I had to do earlier this week when I ate an excessive amount of coconut oil (DO NOT TRY RADISH FRIES!!!). Maybe that's clogging up the whole system... Usually I've been great! Eating well and not nauseous ever. I was really happy to be able to buy Gas-X in the US! Not burping so much generally though, now.

Howdytx, I'm so sorry you have to get it removed. I hope you're feeling much better now. Are you still able to stick to your eating plan?

Take care all

Hello,
I had the balloo inserted yesterday 5/25. First day was awful!! Vomited everything including all the medications (the disolvable meds were even worse!). It's now day 2 and I'm slightly better.
Has anyone else has non stop hiccups and burping this early on?
Also the Dr called and said that if I'm dehydrated I should go to an urgent care for IV fluids. Have any of you done this?
I'm feeling awful and wondering WHAT have I done?!?!

Hi NY21182 I know I was dehydrated for several days - I had a terrible headache, and I hadn't kept any fluids in for about 24 hours. Keep sipping the water. I felt exactly the same the second day - for several, truth be told. I too wondered what I'd done. I only threw up for about 18 hours but had a disgusting sense of bloatedness for quite a while. I can't remember if I had hiccups or burping that early. It is a really gross adjustment period, but it does get better.

Trocadero- thank you so much for your reply! I was feeling so lonely. It's nice to hear from someone who knows how I'm feeling.
I'm wondering if part of the why I'm feeling so yucky is lack of caffeine in addition to dehydration?
How many days before you could move past only clear liquids? I feel like I desperately need something with substance!

I totally cheated in terms of liquids. I was a vegetarian for four years before the balloon, but in that first week of liquids, I was ravenous for meat. I turned total carnivore. I looked at a lot of different medical centres' rules for food, and they varied so much. By day 5 I couldn't take the liquids anymore, so I ate some scrambled eggs. I swear my stomach felt more settled after that. I slowly started introducing solids from that point. I figured it was all about what you could tolerate, so I'd just try it and see how it went. I know it was against the rules...

NY2112, someone here recommended GasX and it really helped a lot! Now I still burp, but it's not constant anymore.

Definitely will try the gas x!! Wow it's so nice hearing feedback from someone who went through this. 😀
I drank some watermelon juice (not sure that's allowed) and I feel a lot better

NY21182, what's your eating plan for when you've adjusted to the balloon? Oh I have another cheat too. They told me never to drink at meals, but it was impossible for me not to. Maybe some people get sick when they do that, but it actually just helps me feel full. I'm kind of low-carbing - no sugar, white bread, white flour, potatoes, corn, white rice or cous cous. I do break it one or two times a week though, but I don't crave junky sweets - just the good stuff. I have one or two squares of very dark chocolate every day. I'm interested to hear what you're doing You'll feel better soon!

Thanks Trocadero! The meal plan for after I adjust to the balloon is basically low carb. I've read online that someole have done IP but the nutritionist I met with only said low carb.
I think the "no drinking with meals" rule will be very hard for me to follow too!
I'm feeling better today. Almost no nausea. Just A LOT of bloating and pressure. I look and feel like I swallowed a basketball 😀

Hi there! Planning to get a balloon 2/4 and am reading each post on here with nervousness. Wondering how successful you have been with keeping weight off? I loved your view that with balloon it was “ your job” to use the balloon as a tool properly. Could you share how things have gone for you? Thanks so much for any advice!! —CK